The next day, I was surprised when Marik started talking to me, his light blue eyes spreading an icy chill throughout my body. It felt as if Anubis were talking to me, and not my own brother. "You know that we were destined for the throne, Isis," he said without emotion. "That is why Father named you after a goddess."
"You speak as if you are older than me. You know the penalty for speaking so, and going against my will would only sink you into deeper trouble."
Now an icy rage filled me, a rage at the fact that my brother was so negligent of the law. If he spoke to me like that any longer, he would have his tongue cut off. Acting against my will would result in his death. My brother's temperment was icy, yes, but I did not wish for him to die because of a stubborn will.
I was quickly growing angry with my brother, but my countenance remained blank. "It is your turn to follow me," I said coldly. Was I too adopting this icily cruel temperment that my brother possessed? He followed me to the temple of Ra, where I lit a candle and led him into an icy cold passageway. Such pleasing temperature was rarely found in Egypt, but there was a strange aura here, something that depicted great power within the depths of these catacombs. "Something rests here," I warned. "Be cautious not to disturb it." With a grunt, my brother followed me further into the passageway.
Within hours we had lost our sense of where we were going. Marik grumbled some mild curses and otherwise remained silent. "Don't worry," I said, a touch of fear creeping into my voice. "We should be there soon."
"You are the one who shouldn't worry. After all, you're trembling all over."
"Brother, I only fear that you will depart from us soon."
"Why would you care? You treat me as if you play the role of our dead mother, Isis. Can't you realize that your brother is no longer a child?"
I was hit hard with my brother's last words. Yes, I did realize that Marik's childhood was long past, but he had nobody to guide him away from the path of death that he was going slowly down. I needed to clasp his hand before his icy blue eyes faded from my vision, and into the kingdom of Anubis.
Why did my brother need to act as if he were the elder of the family? He played me as if I were his pawn. Nothing good would come of it, and my brother would die from taking life's most dangerous path: that of a rich outlaw. Having been raised in the comfort and shade of a rich home, Marik had no skills in battle. I could beat him, if we ever got to the point of sparring. I wonder what he would do to me if I even tried to teach him the spear and javelin. "We are here," I said, as we entered a small room with a drawing of Ra on every wall. "Yet this is not what I came to show you. Look over at the altar." There sat the items that had the potential to bring ruin to the entire world.
Marik fondled a rod with passion. His eyes were not so icy anymore; they were cynically playful. "Isis," he said with such strength that he didn't sound at all like my younger brother. "Take something here. You and I can reclaim our throne with the aid of these items. Just take something and we can take back what is ours. Yami's rule will be brought to an abrupt halt." I prayed in my mind that Yami would be safe somehow from my brother's insanity. Yes, I am afraid it has become drastic enough to be called insanity.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind us. A young man, around my age, stood there in white robes and turban, his mouth a thin line of cold, hard anger. "Who are you, and why do you dare walk the sacred grounds?"
"We are the true royal family, or what remains of it, my young friend." The young man's eyes hardened at my response. His skin was only slightly lighter than mine, and his neck was burdened by a large key made of pure gold. Yami had told me that this key marked the guardian of the items that he had sealed with the power of the shadow games. Very few creatures from those dangerous games remain today. "I am a friend of the-" Marik cut me of as I almost said pharaoh. "We are going to leave now," my brother said. "We're sorry to have inconvenienced you." We were going to leave, when a boulder came crashing down right at us.
Author's Note-Sorry, but I have to keep up the suspense for the next chapter.
"You speak as if you are older than me. You know the penalty for speaking so, and going against my will would only sink you into deeper trouble."
Now an icy rage filled me, a rage at the fact that my brother was so negligent of the law. If he spoke to me like that any longer, he would have his tongue cut off. Acting against my will would result in his death. My brother's temperment was icy, yes, but I did not wish for him to die because of a stubborn will.
I was quickly growing angry with my brother, but my countenance remained blank. "It is your turn to follow me," I said coldly. Was I too adopting this icily cruel temperment that my brother possessed? He followed me to the temple of Ra, where I lit a candle and led him into an icy cold passageway. Such pleasing temperature was rarely found in Egypt, but there was a strange aura here, something that depicted great power within the depths of these catacombs. "Something rests here," I warned. "Be cautious not to disturb it." With a grunt, my brother followed me further into the passageway.
Within hours we had lost our sense of where we were going. Marik grumbled some mild curses and otherwise remained silent. "Don't worry," I said, a touch of fear creeping into my voice. "We should be there soon."
"You are the one who shouldn't worry. After all, you're trembling all over."
"Brother, I only fear that you will depart from us soon."
"Why would you care? You treat me as if you play the role of our dead mother, Isis. Can't you realize that your brother is no longer a child?"
I was hit hard with my brother's last words. Yes, I did realize that Marik's childhood was long past, but he had nobody to guide him away from the path of death that he was going slowly down. I needed to clasp his hand before his icy blue eyes faded from my vision, and into the kingdom of Anubis.
Why did my brother need to act as if he were the elder of the family? He played me as if I were his pawn. Nothing good would come of it, and my brother would die from taking life's most dangerous path: that of a rich outlaw. Having been raised in the comfort and shade of a rich home, Marik had no skills in battle. I could beat him, if we ever got to the point of sparring. I wonder what he would do to me if I even tried to teach him the spear and javelin. "We are here," I said, as we entered a small room with a drawing of Ra on every wall. "Yet this is not what I came to show you. Look over at the altar." There sat the items that had the potential to bring ruin to the entire world.
Marik fondled a rod with passion. His eyes were not so icy anymore; they were cynically playful. "Isis," he said with such strength that he didn't sound at all like my younger brother. "Take something here. You and I can reclaim our throne with the aid of these items. Just take something and we can take back what is ours. Yami's rule will be brought to an abrupt halt." I prayed in my mind that Yami would be safe somehow from my brother's insanity. Yes, I am afraid it has become drastic enough to be called insanity.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind us. A young man, around my age, stood there in white robes and turban, his mouth a thin line of cold, hard anger. "Who are you, and why do you dare walk the sacred grounds?"
"We are the true royal family, or what remains of it, my young friend." The young man's eyes hardened at my response. His skin was only slightly lighter than mine, and his neck was burdened by a large key made of pure gold. Yami had told me that this key marked the guardian of the items that he had sealed with the power of the shadow games. Very few creatures from those dangerous games remain today. "I am a friend of the-" Marik cut me of as I almost said pharaoh. "We are going to leave now," my brother said. "We're sorry to have inconvenienced you." We were going to leave, when a boulder came crashing down right at us.
Author's Note-Sorry, but I have to keep up the suspense for the next chapter.